Culture:

Date:

Medium:

Dimensions:

191.8 x 64.8 x 59.7 cm (75 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 23 1/2 in.)

Department:

Sculpture & Decorative Arts

Classification:

Decorative Arts

Object Type:

Clock

Object Number:

85.DB.116

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This clock was one of the most popular models produced by the German workshop run by David Roentgen and Peter Kinzing. The case is covered with a simple maple veneer, while gilt bronze mounts symbolizing Time add decoration around the clock face: Chronos (Father Time) supports the clock dial, and the passage of the year is marked by the garland over the dial, with its flowers for spring, wheat for summer, grapes for autumn, and holly leaves for winter. The faces of day and night are shown around the frieze, and the whole is crowned with a lyre, symbol of the sun god Apollo who oversees the passage of Time. Although the clock once played a tune when it chimed, this movement no longer works.

Several other existing clocks include a large gilt bronze statue of Apollo playing his lyre on the top; as there are holes on the top of the case, such a figure probably once adorned this clock too.

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